We have to 'un-psych" ourselves; there will not be a showdown between Cracksman and Roaring Lion.

Oisin Murphy: 'exceptional' Roaring Lion will have no problem dropping in tripRoaring Lion will head to the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday in preference to the longer Qipco Champion Stakes with Oisin Murphy brimful of confidence his partner is ready to shine back at a mile.
Read more: https://www.racingpost.com/news/champio ... kes/349945

Can't argue with Gosden's reasoning. The QEII should still be a good race, as Roaring Lion will have to face horses like Beat the Bank, Lightning Spear, Recoletos and good fillies Happily and Laurens.

Roaring Lion won the QEII, and John Gosden intimated that the horse may be off to stud now. I can't really blame the owners, as the horse captured 4 of Europe's top contests this year, and this would be a great note to sign off on. But it would be thrilling if he made the trip to Churchill.

The Bloodhorse article about Roaring Lion going to the QEII mentioned that they've been dealing with Lion's studdish "I like the ladies" attitude for a while. Pretty sure I've seen that about Cracksman as well.

Sometimes when mares get baby fever it's better to retire them, and it can happen to the boys as well.

Last edited by Mylute on Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Kudos to Subway Dancer who ran a very credible 3rd in the Champion Stakes for the Czech Republic!

And whilst not the most impressive victory, I'd like to give credit to Stradivarius and his team. 5 wins in a row this season, undefeated winning the $1 million stayers bonus and now the Long Distance Cup to cap off an incredible season for him!

It looked like Happily was rearing/flailing and may have knocked herself against the gate sides pretty hard. The starters backed her out and then immediately sent the field on its way, so they didn't even bother to take time with a vet exam before the scratching.

Regarding Roaring Lion...that was a very brave win by the big grey colt. He really had to hang tough to keep his nose in front. A race like that can take a lot out of a horse, so I wouldn't be surprised if Gosden ends up deciding that shipping across The Pond for a big race in just two weeks might be a bit much for RL.
Wonderful win by Cracksman. Looked like the racehorse 'light' went back on in his stallion brain, as he ran like he did last year. Where is he headed to stud now?

Regarding Roaring Lion...that was a very brave win by the big grey colt. He really had to hang tough to keep his nose in front. A race like that can take a lot out of a horse, so I wouldn't be surprised if Gosden ends up deciding that shipping across The Pond for a big race in just two weeks might be a bit much for RL.
Wonderful win by Cracksman. Looked like the racehorse 'light' went back on in his stallion brain, as he ran like he did last year. Where is he headed to stud now?

It looked like Happily was rearing/flailing and may have knocked herself against the gate sides pretty hard. The starters backed her out and then immediately sent the field on its way, so they didn't even bother to take time with a vet exam before the scratching.

That's the British way of dealing with horses that delay the start, whether they're unruly in the gate or simply refuse to load. Little patience for any of it and no unloading of stalls after the late withdrawal to give fans a chance to restructure their bets, just, as you saw, back the horse away and send the field off immediately.